Palace warns against investment scams

Communications Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

Malacañang has warned the public against online and other fraudulent investment schemes, noting that these illegal activities have proliferated in the country.

Presidential Communications Secretary Herminio Coloma on Sunday urged the public to be vigilant and to exercise self-restraint in investing their hard-earned money in suspect investment schemes.

In an interview over state-run Radyo ng Bayan, Coloma said: “I call on our countrymen to be vigilant, examining closely investment proposals that promise high returns as these may be dubious and predatory.”

Citing reports reaching the Department of Trade and Industry, Coloma said “the number of online scams in various regions all over the country has increased.”

This, he said, was due to the “increasing number of people using the Internet and engaging in online shopping.”

“Both the DTI and the Securities and Exchange Commission have issued public advisories warning against these scams. These agencies are working closely with the Department of Justice, particularly the National Bureau of Investigation and the Philippine National Police,” he said.

Last week, over 4,000 people, many of them from Metro Manila, fell prey to an allegedly fraudulent investment scheme promising a 45-percent return on their money within weeks.

Some investors in the firm Skyline Marketing sought the help of the Criminal Investigation Division of the Quezon City police to recover their money. The investors have yet to file formal complaints in the SEC.

Coloma, also head of the Presidential Communications Operations Office, said an undisclosed number of estafa cases had been filed by the DOJ against suspected perpetrators of investment scams.

“The DTI’s Consumer Protection and Advocacy Bureau and the SEC’s Enforcement and Investor Protection Department are closely monitoring and continuously looking into cases of pyramid and other investment scams,” he said.–Jerry E. Esplanada